Thermostatic valve device



Pl 7, 19472 c. A. BRowN 2,278,422

THERMOSTATIC VALVE DEVICE VFiled July l, 1940 Patented Apr. 7, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE` I i lTHERMOs"rlziz'lzliviz DEVICE f Y Y Clyde A. Brown, Chicago, Ill., assignor tor The Dole Valvel Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application July 1,1940, Serial No. 343,364

7 Claims.

bustion engines, It is customary to use in theA circulatory cooling systems of internal combusf tion engines, such as those used with automobiles, a thermostatically controlled valve which'when the engine is cold, closes the connection to the radiator so that the engine will quiclly Warm up, the thermostat opening this valve after the temperature reaches a predetermined point and the engine has been .sufficientlyv warmed up. The present invention has as one 'of its objects to provide a thermostatic valve device by means 'of which the valve will be held open in the event an excessive temperaturev of the engine has been brought about for any reason, such as the lack of sufficient cooling liquid for the engine, and

which will prevent the closing of this valve after` the engine has cooled. 'I'he invention has as a` further object to provide means for locking the valve in the circulatory cooling system in an open positionv after the engine has been overheated. The invention has further objects which are more particularly pointed out in the accompanyingdescription, the ,valve construction herein shown is not claimedv herein but is claimed in my earlier application, SerialfNo. 283,426, iiled July 8, 1939. The means hereinclaimed for preventing the'valve from being closed after the engine has been overheated'm'aytbe used with ,any suit-r able form`of valve. Y

Referringnow to theV drawing, Fig. 1 is a. view showing one form of thev device embodying the invention in position in the circulatory cooling system of an internal combustion engine;'

Fig. 21s an enlarged view in part section through the valve casing;

Fig. 3 is a view of the locking pin and the bushlng in which it is placed, in section;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view takenon line 4--4 of Fig. l;

' Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, with the parts in position to hold the valve open after the parts have cooled; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to^Fig.3, showing a different disposition of the solder.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several gures. 4

Referring now to the drawing, I have shown a portion I of an internal combustion engine jacket which is connected by a pipe or connectionl with the radiator 3. Y Inl this connectionA at any suitable point is a valve r4 which is mounted in any suitable manner, as,k.for example, by being pivotally mounted at-5 in the casing l.` This casing has alaterally projecting edge 'I .which is clamped 'between the engine jacket I and the flange 8 on the connection 2 byv means of the fastening devices 9. u

A bimetal thermostat I0 is herein shown in the form of a coil having one end II fastened to a shaft I2. The other end I3 is attached to the. valve v4 in any desired manner. as byv means of the link I4. '-I'here is a bleed hole I5-in the casing.

'The parts are so arranged that when the` engine is cold the valve` is closed, as shown in Fig. 2. When the engine warms up sufliciently, the thermostat moves rthe valve from its closed position shown in Fig.l2, to its open position, so that the cooling liquid may be circulated through the radiator 3 so asfto be cooled. 1

lSome means is provided for locking the valve 4 in its open position ,in the event the engine becomes overheated, so.that.the valve will remain openthereafter until the injury is repaired or a new valve placed in position. VIhave illustrated one means for securing `this result. In this construction an opening is made in therbimetalstrip atsome point opposite the casing 6 and there is placedr in this opening abushing I6 which is provided with a shoulder I'I and a reduced portion I8; The bushing is inserted in the opening in the blmetal strip until the shoulder II engages the strip, as shown in Fig. 2. The bushing is fixed in position Vin any desired manner, as, for example, by turning over the edge I9 so that the bimetal strip is clampedbetween the shoulder I1 and thev edge I9. A pin 20 is inserted in the bushing I8 and is held` therein byfsolder which meltsat a comparatively low temperature. 'I'his solder is indicated at 2l in Fig. 3.

solder, this moves the-pin through the bushing and thebimetal strip, causing it to engage the casing I. When the engine cools below the softening or melting point of the solder, the solder becomes sufilciently hard to hold the pin in position so that the bimetal strip cannot move toward the casing to cause the valve to close. thus holding the valve open when the engine cools and maintaining the valve in this openvposition.

The softening or melting point of the solder used will of course depend upon the conditions presented. Injury, for example, to the engine or to the thermostat does not occur when the temperature is below 212 Adegrees Fahrenheit.

a The thermostat is adjusted, for example, to open the valve before the engine becomes sumciently heated to cause injury either to the engine Vor to the thermostat. Ordinarily the thermostat is set to fully open the valve at approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit. A.'I'he solder used, therefore, is such as to soften up suiilciently when the tem- :perature of the cooling liquid in the engine jacket rises above 212 degrees Fahrenheit, to the danger point or to a point that approaches'the danger point, to permit the pin to loon so that it can be pushed through the bimetal strip. This temperature causes the part 22 of the valve to move over to engage the pin and slide it in the :bushing and the :end Il of the thermostat until the end 22 ofthe valve comes in contact with the end lI'I of the bushing. In this position the pin engages the casing, as shown, for example, in Fig. 5. As the temperature of the parts lowers, the solder hardens so as to hold the pin in this position, thereby causing the end Il of the -thermostat to be held in position to thereafter hold the valve open, even when the parts are entirely cold. v

The thermostatmay vbe of any suitable form. I prefer to make this thermostat of bimetal consisting of twov strips fastened together, having different coefficients of expansion, one strip, for example, the strip 23, being of non-ferrous metal and the strip 24 'being of ferrous metal. The thermostat is preferably so arranged that the end I3 attached to the valve does not move across the valve casing so as to materially obstruct th'e flow of the liquid therethrough. This result is secured by winding the bimetal strip on the shaft l2 so that the heating'of the bimetal causes the coil to move in a windingdirection, that is, to wind up on the shaft l2. This causes th'e end Hoi' the bimetal strip to change its position from that shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 5, where it does not materially ob;- struct the flow of liquid through the valve casing. When the bimetal cools, with this construc-v tion, the cooling causes it to move in an unwinding direction about the shaft I2,

The solder may be applied to the parts in any desired manner. It may be applied to theV pin 20 alone or to the bushing and the pin or to the bushing alone, the only requirement being that it will hold the pin in the bushing under normal temperatures and will soften so that the pin may be pushed through the bushing at abnormal temperatures, and will then harden to hold `the pin in this latter positiomwhen the temperature lowers a predetermined amount.

One of the simplest ways of utilizing the solder is to simply immerse the pin 20 in the solder, whereupon the pin becomes coated with this solder 2|, as shown in Fig. -3. The solder. for example, may be arranged so that 'a' portion of it 2| a' is outside of the bushing and another portion 2lb is inside of the bushing. I n this construction when the high temperature is reached and the solder softens, the valve engaging the pin 2| moves it into the bushing so that the solder Ila is moved into the bushing and this solder cools when the temperature has beenme-y duced sumciently and holds the pin in position and the valve in its open position. The solder is preferably such that it hardena sumciently to hold the parts at a temperature higher than that required to open the valve to its fully open position. It is of course understood that whatever iiux is required in connection with the solder may be used. Any suitable solder may be used. I have found, for example, that very good resuits are secured with a solder made from an alloy of tin, lead and bismuth, as follows: tin. 56 percent; lead, `32.9 percent; bismuth 11.1 percent.

The useand operation of my invention are `as follows..

Whenthe thermostatic valve device is to be used itis placed in position where the thermostatic coil is in position to be heated, the valve being normally closed when the parts are cool. As the coil heats, the two strips of bimetal having different coeiilcients of expansion, expandso as to move the valve from its closed to its open position. If the device becomes overheated, that is becomes heated to a temperature where injury would result either to the thermostat or to any other device with which the valve is used. the solder holding the pin 2l in position in the bushing It. softens and the end 22 of the valve engagesthe pin 2l and moves in the bushing until the end'comes opposite the part Il of the bushing. In this position the other end of the pin strikes the valve casing I. Whennow the temperature lowers, the solder hardens as this temperature lowers, so as to again ilx the pin in the bushing Il and hold it with its end engaging the casing l, thereby holding the parts so that the valve will be maintained in its open position after the parts have become cold.

When the device, for example, is used withinternal combustion engines, it will be seen that if the engine can, after this abnormal temperature, be again started, the valve will remain open and the circulation through the radiator be( maintainedat all times.

l. A thermostatic valve device comprising a casing, s valve mounted therein, a thermostatic element connected with said valve, to move it to its open position when a predetermined temperature is reached, and a stop for holding said valve in an open pomtion, after the parts are cool.

when an abnormal temperature is reachedduring the operation of ated by and moved the device, said stop actuinto its operative position by the thermostatic element.

2. A thermostatic valve device comprising a casing, a valve mounted therein, althermostatic element connected with said valve, to move it to its'open position perature is reached, astop device connected with said thermostatic element.4 and normally 4inlan inoperative positiomand means for utllizingsaid thermostatic element to move said stop device to an operative position when the thermostatic element is subjected to an abnormal temperature,

so as to stop the closing movementof said valve and hold said valve open when the parts are cool. 3. A thermostatic valve device comprising a casing, a valve pivotally mounted therein, having when a` predetermined tema portion projecting on opposite sides ci the pivot, a thermostatic element connected with said valve, a pin connected with said thermostatic element in proximity to said valve and projecting toward the interior of the casing, solder connecting said pin with said thermostatic element, said solder softening when the temperature to which it is subjected reaches a predetermined abnormal point, said thermostatic element connected with said valve so that when the thermostatic element is subjected to an abnormal temperature to soften said solder, a portion of the valve engages said pin and moves it toward the casing, to cause it to engage said casing, said solder when cooled locking said pin in its operative position to hold the valve in its open position.

4. A thermostatic valve device comprising a casing, a valve pivotally mounted therein, and a thermostatic element having a coil having one end connected with a xed point and' the other end connected with said valve, said coil coiled about the iixed point so that the coil is moved in a winding up direction when the thermostatic element moves the valve toward its open position, a pin connected with said thermostatic element in proximity to said valve and projecting toward the interior of the casing, solder connect-V ing said pin with said thermostatic element, said solder softening when the temperature to which it is subjected reaches a. predetermined abnormal point, said thermostatic element being connected with said valve so -that when the thermostatic element is subjected to an abnormal temperature to soften said solder, a portion of the valve engages said pin and moves it toward the casing to cause it to engage the casing, said solder when cooled locking said pin in its operative position to hold the valve in its operative position.

5. A thermostatic valve device comprising a casing, a valve pivotally mounted therein, a thermostatic element having a coil having one end connected with a xed point, a link connected with said valve and with the other end of said thermostatic element, said coil coiled about the fixed point so that the coil is moved in a winding direction when the thermostatic element moves the valve toward its open position, a stop device connected with said thermostatic element and normally in an inoperative position, and

means for utilizing said thermostatic element to move :nid stop device to an operative position when the thermostatic element is subjected to an abnormal temperature, so as to stop the closing movement of said valve and hold said valve open when the parts are cooled.

6. A thermostatic valve device comprising a casing, a valve pivotally mounted therein, a thermostatic element having a coil having' one end connected with a fixed point and the other end connected with said valve, said coil coiled about the flxed point so that the coil is moved in a winding direction when the thermostatic element moves the valve toward its open position, and means attached to said thermostatic element and moving therewith for holding said valve in an open position, after the parts are cool, when an abnormal temperature is reached during the operation of the device.

7. A' thermostatic valve device comprising a casing, a valve pivotally mounted therein, a thermostatic element connected with said valve to move it to its open position when a predetermined temperature is reached, a stop device associated with said valve and normally in an inoperative posltion, and means attached to said thermostatic element and moving therewith and brought into operation' responsive to said thermostatic element, for rendering said stop device op'rative to stop the closing movement of the valve and hold the valve open when the parts are cool.

CLYDE A. BROWN. 

